Two's Company
by Shirou-Tenshin
Summary: A Izuru/OC friendship fic. Sequel to 'A Walk to Remember'. After she gradutes from the Academy, Yuki must find her place within her new group of friends, but how will she react when she meets one Kira Izuru?


With a nervous smile, and a content glance to the front of the audience, I knew that this was it. I was finally graduating from Seirei Academy and was getting my full Shinigami license. Tomorrow, a bundle of black hakama would be waiting for me when I woke up, just like the ones Renji wore.

Speaking of the fiery redhead, I glanced in the crowd and smiled when I saw his clump of crimson red locks among the throng. He was not very difficult to find. That, and his freakishly huge stature. I saw he also brought a friend with him. A sweet girl with dark chocolate brown hair and chestnut eyes to match. If I remember correctly, her name was Hinamori Momo. Renji said that Momo was also one of his friends along with this Izuru character that I had yet to meet, but the cheerful girl had assured me with a perky smile that I would get along fine with their mysterious friend. I quite liked Momo, and the instant we had introduced each other, it was a snap, immediate connecting friendship. For this, I was both happy and grateful.

The graduation was an insanely long procession in the main courtyard in the blazing heat, with close to three hours simply standing under the scorching sun. Needless to say that by the time it was over, we were more than happy to leave and rendezvous at their party location to celebrate the graduation of the "newbie" and to ceremonially take me up into my new circle of friends. I had already told them that this was not necessary and completely out of line, but they had insisted. Something about Momo loving to set up parties. However, this 'party' also included one unknown Kira Izuru.

I had met Renji that fateful day in the park about two months ago, and had been introduced to Momo, another petite, dark-haired girl, and Renji's best friend, Kuchiki Rukia, with whom, I hit it off right away, especially with Chappy, to which, Renji could only sigh, and one man named Hisagi Shuuhei, who was a little full of himself, but a kind man. I still questioned at the implying tattoo of a 69 on his left cheek. Even so, after these two fun filled months, I still had to meet Kira Izuru, and for some reason, I felt really nervous.

Renji said he and Izuru were the best of friends, and have been that way since their days in the academy. What if Izuru didn't like me? What if I made a complete fool of myself in front of him? First impressions were everything.

Later that evening, we casually made our way to the rendezvous point. "By the way Renji." I inquired, "Where is our rendezvous point?"

Renji only wore a smug expression and bluntly stated, "Izuru's place."

My eyes widened and I felt the sharp gulp go down my throat. _That idiot! He was going to have my graduation party at the house of someone I don't even know?! What is he thinking?_ My mind was swimming with different thoughts of renewed nervousness and anger. After some time, Renji perked up. "Well, here we are Yuki."

I snapped lose from my reverie to gaze at the house before me. It was a very simple, wooden house. The only sign of life, however, came from the small but extraordinarily bright lantern that hung over the side of the front door. An eerie wind blew gently by, caressing my skin and filling my ears with its demonic howl. It was far too quiet out, and Renji and Momo seemed too calm for my liking.

"Well, let's go in!" said Renji in an enthusiastic manner. Just as he grabbed the door handle, I panicked. I grabbed his wrist and in a somewhat jumpy voice, said, "Renji, are you crazy?! This place is way too dark and freakish to be the right place. Let's just see if we can retrace our steps and find the right-"

"What?" another voice added in from directly behind me while grabbing my shoulder. I screamed so loudly from fright that I was sure at least half of the Soul Society had heard me. Shaking, I hid behind Momo with wide eyes, and then watched as Renji gave the man a hug. "Hey Izuru, where did you go? I thought you said you'd be here for eight." said Renji.

The other man, who was identified to be Kira Izuru, rubbed the back of his head nervously before replying, "Sorry Abarai-kun, but I got caught up at the office then went to buy some tea on the way home."

Renji only smiled at him. "Fine, I'll only let you off with a warning this time." said Renji in his usual cocky fashion. Izuru smiled to him before thanking him. The redhead turned to me and, with a warm smile, said, "Izuru, I'd like you to meet the newbie in our group. This is Hoshino Uta- uh, I mean Yuki."

I glared at him for a second before shifting my gaze to the sweet-hearted gentleman before me, for that was probably one of the only things that he came across as. He had the appearance of a true gentleman. His baby blue eyes stood out beautifully against the contrast of his golden hair that partly covered the left side of his face. He had a smile that could part the clouds and bring forth the sunshine. Both Renji and Momo were correct. I could get along with a guy like this. He held out his hand to me as I shook it. "Hello Yuki, as Renji has probably already stated, I'm Kira Izuru. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person after all the things these two have said about you." he said, glancing over his shoulder as the troublesome twosome merely whistled as though they did not even hear him.

I shot them a look before smiling back to Izuru. "No, the pleasure is all mine Izuru-sempai."

"Uh no, please" he interrupted, "Just call me Izuru. It will make me feel more comfortable, and be much less awkward."

I nodded. "Very well then, Izuru." He returned another friendly smile in my direction before escorting the three of us into his home.

After a grand tour of his simple, yet cozy home, we all sat down at his small tea table. Hinamori and I scampered to the kitchen to brew the tea while Renji and Izuru set up the table with cups and small plates. Once the tea was severed, which was jasmine by the way, is the point in time when things started going half way to hell. It all started with a question. "So," asked Izuru between sips of tea, "What were you about to call Yuki out there when you introduced her, Abarai-kun?" Both Renji and I suddenly choked on our mouthfuls of tea.

"Yeah!" interjected Momo, "I never heard you make a stupid mistake like that by almost calling someone by the wrong name before Renji!" her voice was a shred too perky for my tastes at that moment.

Then, I saw that there was more to Kira Izuru than meets the eye. He smirked deviously in Renji's direction. Momo seemed confused at first, but then suddenly had some sort of crazy idea pop into her thoughts. "Oh! I see! Could it be that you and Yuki are actually dating, Renji?"

After that little comment, we both violently sprayed out our tea all over the small wooden table. In a slightly higher tone, Renji defended his masculinity by saying, "No way! Are you both crazy?! I would never go out with a shorty like that!" Renji cut off after that, realizing what he said, and the fact that the eerie silence in the room was starting to creep up on him. Behind his frightened back, I could only hope that he would spontaneously combust from the dagger-like intensity of my glares. "Hehehe…umm…that's not what…uh…Yuki…?"

He was looking for an excuse, and I saw right through him. "What do you mean a "shorty like that"? I know I sounded very icy, but that was because I wanted to. "When last I checked, you were all hot for Rukia-chan, Renji."

Renji's entire being physically twitched. He turned to defend himself once again, only with a little too much force behind his rebuttal. "Rukia is a different story!! Besides you're not exactly Miss cheerful sunshine yourself!"

I felt the vein in my temple. "Well, excuse me, but I don't remember you being mister hotshot either, idiot!"

He slammed his hand on the table and we started yelling right in each other's faces. "What?! At least I don't try to act all high and mighty like some kind of princess!"

I scoffed. "You bastard! I do NOT act like a princess!! And the way you act around a little teasing, you're like a four-year-old child! Maybe you should go crawl back in your baby blanket somewhere, you immature ass!"

"WHAT?!" we glared at each other for some time with no interruption from the other two present. In the back of my mind, I could spot Momo asking us nervously to stop fighting.

"So," Izuru finally broke the tension, somewhat. "By this display, is it safe to suggest that there is more going on behind closed doors than a simple relationship?"

Renji and I both stop and turned to Izuru, flabbergasted and dumbfounded. "W-WHAT?!" we both yelled. Unfortunately, as I had turned to face Izuru, I had total disregard for my cup of tea in my hands. A sudden howl of agony from behind me made my head snap around just in time to see Renji jump from his seat and begin running around like a mad man, tea stain clearly visible near the sensitive part of his hakama, and a concerned Momo attempting chase to try and calm him down.

They eventually left the room to go find something to help Renji. This left Izuru and me in the room, alone. The eerie silence had return, but not with as much force. Izuru still looked pleasantly content. I, however, knew that I was not so fortunate. I shakily put the cup to my lips for another sip, but could not get a decent amount from my nervousness, so just satisfied with putting my cup down. Izuru chuckled before finally breaking the tension. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, Yuki-san."

"Please!" I interrupted, "call me Yuki, Kira."

He laughed merrily. "Alright, but then, you must call me Izuru, agreed Yuki?"

I smiled to him before replying, "Alright Izuru. And you didn't make me feel uncomfortable, you just caught me by surprise was all." I shifted. "It appears I also caught Abarai-kun by surprise with my comment, eh Yuki?"

I caught myself laughing. "It would appear so, Izuru."

He smiled. "So what was that name that Abarai-kun was about to call you, anyway?" he asked sincerely.

I blushed lightly. "Well, its just some foolish nick name that he decided to call me since it was describing the first time that we had met." I hinted about the oddity of the situation, but Izuru actually seemed interested. "Well, he was about to call me Utau-chan."

He raised an eyebrow. "Utau? As in 'song'? but, why song?"

"You see," I explained, "the first time we met, I was singing, oblivious to the rest of the world. I guess he had heard me, and I ended up falling into a pond due to my bad habit of spacing out."

I blushed even more as Izuru laughed. "That's kind of sweet Yuki."

"Hey! I have a name for him too, you know!" I recoiled.

In his chuckle he asked, "Really? What is it?"

I wore a smug smirk before answering, "Senryou-chan."

I had caught him off guard. He had nothing to say at first, but then, his confusion was replaced by his laughter. "You called him 'dye'? Why?"

"Because," I stated, pouting slightly, "It sounds cooler than 'Ink-chan' and the first thing I noticed about Renji were his ridiculous tattoos!" we laughed cheerfully together until our nerves calmed down. Then, the silence had reared its ugly head once more. At one point, I could have sworn I heard the wind go howling by. Izuru also wore a look that suggested that this was an awkward silence. "Umm…please forgive me Yuki, but…I'm not very good with holding a conversation…hehehe…" he looked so lost.

I could tell he was really trying to keep me entertained, but he was at such a loss. _Poor dear_ I thought. "Don't worry Izuru, I'm not very good myself at holding a conversation."

I smiled when I saw him perk up a little at the fact that we had something in common. "Really? I thought it was just I. Abarai-kun always says that I will be better if I just try to communicate and make more friends, but I don't really know how to make a good impression to make friends." He said nervously.

I deadpanned. Renji could be a real moron sometimes. "Well, don't listen to Renji about stuff like that. He's an idiot. You're probably smarter at that kind of stuff than he is. You just need to be yourself when making friends. That's when your real friends will immerge."

It was then I decided that his real smile was better than any other expression on his face. We talked for what seemed like hours. In just a short period of time, it had seemed like we had known each other for years. Renji and Momo returned shortly after, mouths agape at how harmoniously we were getting along. They demanded to know what they had missed and why we were acting so friendly. Well, more so Renji. Momo was just full of happy smiles and smug looks. Izuru and I glanced to each other before simultaneously laughing. They were right. We did get along very well.

We had talked about working as a Shinigami, I asked him what the taichou were like, what was hot in the living world right now, and even some general Shinigami gossip strait off the press from the SWA(Shinigami Women's Association). Apparently, there was a rumour that one of the captains, I believe Izuru said it was Captain Kyouraku, and his lieutenant, Ise Nanao, were going steady, and that the best division, in terms of captain, to be in was the fifth squad.

That's the squad Momo was in. I knew Momo had a huge crush on Captain Aizen because she never stopped talking about him. She was so infatuated that she could take any topic and relay it back to him. It was kind of cute, actually, and I hoped Momo would one day win his love. However, something unexpected had appeared during the talk Izuru and I had shared together. Izuru also liked Momo. I thought that this was one of the most adorable things in the world, and immediately reached across the table to hug him while the other two were gone, probably squishing his poor lungs out in the process. I decided that I would root for both of them and see where their paths would take them in the future. I also wondered if this Captain Aizen character was a good head turner himself…hmm… regardless, tonight, I had added another piece to the puzzle of my Shinigami life.

I knew that as long as I would fight for my life as a Shinigami, Kira Izuru would be there beside me, holding me up the entire way. I could see it in his smile, and felt it in his eyes, and I, him. I smiled back before whispering under my breath, "Friends forever, Izuru."


End file.
